==http://www.three.com.au/images//1_logo.gif Mobile Video Phones== (and their abilty to enable interactivity)
The company, 3 and their Mobile Video Phones have been a recent addition to the mobile phone market, offering prices that have enabled the market to become increasingly competitive. Yet, apart from being a new network from which potential customers have to choose, 3 have opened up another layer in the mobile phone realm, and that is the video phones. Since these phones were introduced by NEC (1), (and later LG (2), Motorola (3) and Sony (4)), and sold through the 3 company, other manufacturers such as Nokia, Samsung and Panasonic have introduced similar phones with similar capabilities, but none have yet to enable face to face interaction in the form of a phone call that has been offered by the 3 phones.
Besides becoming a new avenue in the mobile phone world, 3 have also enabled other types of interaction through their NEC, and more recently LG, Motorola and Sony, phones. The most pertinent example of this interaction can be seen through the television series Big Brother. This television show, aired in many countries in the world, recently finished its fourth series in Australia, and besides consistently attaining some of the highest ratings of the year (www.ten.com.au), introduced a new concept for fans of the show to follow its progress, even when it was not on air. Big Brother and 3, made a partnership, whereby 3 customers were able to tune into some of the many cameras operating in the house, any time of the day or night, and watch the housemates in their daily activities. The customers were also privy to their own personalized updates of the show, should they choose. This allowed a heightened level of interactivity for 3 customers, as they were enabled access to information, and interaction (from the medium of their mobile phone), that no other viewer could access.
This has taken the idea of the traditional and most simplistic form of television interaction, the remote control, many steps further. It has allowed a brand new form of interaction that opens the door to many other ideas and potential tools for the future of interactive tv.
Other Related Topics: Personal Video Recorders (PVR), TiVo, Big Brother, Idol, Reality TV and its use of SMS, Reality TV and its use of the Internet, Foxtel Digital, Internet TV, Daily Broadcasting
1. http://www.three.com.au/images/85_v2_NECe616_sml_D8448.jpg 2. http://www.three.com.au/images/85_v2_LGU8120_sml_NEW_C206F.jpg 3. http://www.three.com.au/images/85_v2_MotorolaA925_sml_80D58.jpg 4. http://www.three.com.au/images/85_v2_SonyZ1010_sml_6E219.jpg
Lauren Barton 16:00, 24 Oct 2004 (EST)
References:
Lauren Barton 14:00, 28 Oct 2004 (EST)
